A Lost Cause: Patrick Stump & Sixteen Candles Fic
by AshAnesthetic
Summary: Based on 'A Little Less Sixteen Candles' music video. Lauren has been chosen to be the lover of William, the Dandies leader, against her will and is turned. When she's saved by the vampire hunters, she's come to find her long lost brother, and a love?
1. Chapter 1

**[[Author's note: This is my first series here on ! I hope you enjoy it all! Please, after you read, I'd love it if you reviewed my story. I wanna know if you guys actually like the story or not! ^-^; And basically, I'll be updating the chapters roughly each week, give or take. Enjoy!!!  
This story is about the A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me music video by Fall Out Boy. Basically, a vampire series. ;D]]**

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The way the body dangled limply down the steps made it almost a surefire thing that she was dead. If her lifeless body didn't make it clear enough that she was gone, then the deep puddles of spilled blood underneath her dripping onto the stairs made it obvious. A pink mouth was permanently etched in a slightly agape 'o', which not ten minutes ago had previously been screaming. No longer did her eyes hold that agonizing fear, merely for the fact that the ivory lids upon them remained lightly shut. By now, you could only tell that parts of her hair were light blonde. The blood had been sure to dye and cake many strands of it crimson, while her sweat had caused the rest of the strands to be just as damp as the bloody parts. Already was her fair skin paler than need be.

It was, indeed, a tragedy.

By now you'd think that the oddly silent air would be filled with screeching sirens, or at least screams of horror from bypassers. Strangely enough, it would be quite the opposite. It was an unfortunate matter that these types of scenes would be pretty common in the area. It was a fact that no, they usually weren't this gruesome, but none had ever put up much of a fight than this woman had to cause the scene to be that particularly messy. However, there was one sound that seemed out of place. That sound happened to be coming from a few people passing by. Long, deep breaths measured each smell precisely. Their noses perked up at the metallic scent, and caused them to flash a wide smile.

A wide, very noticeably sharp, smile.

Their gleaming red eyes danced at their new meal, already prepared and ready to order. The group of three broke into a sprint as their throats screamed for them to go faster. Of course they would've, if their feet hadn't stopped as abruptly as they did. Now normally, nothing could stop a hungry vampire from its prey. Two vampires could fight to the death for a taste of blood. This time was different. Instead, two figures stood in front of them, appearing out of nowhere. The first wore a clean suit with a bowler hat, and the second the same, but with a top hat, fur, and a fashionable cane. At first glance, you'd think they were merely a pair of rich kids, friends walking the streets. The three vampires seemed to think otherwise, since all it took was one growl from the one in the bowler hat and a double pair of glaring for them to retreat down the alleyways.

There was something about the growl that made it seem like he was sneering, "Ours." THEIR prey, not those fools... which technically was true. After all, there were two puncture holes in the female's neck, and already one pair of fangs stained in the red, leftovers. Finally, the two looked down at the woman.

"See? Didn't I do well?" The one in the bowler hat exclaimed almost happily to the other man. Short brown hair poked their way from under his hat, and murky red eyes gleamed at his job well done. He had a tall, thin frame, and just as pale skin as the woman had right now. Except his seemed a bit more... fresh. The other man continued to stare at the girl, his own rusty eyes filled with curiosity. His hair was almost the same brown color as the other man's was, except a little lighter, and longer. His reached almost to his shoulders. As well, he was even taller and just as thin looking as the other. Both, though, were obviously built enough. This other man's skin was still the same fresh pale.

The man with the longer hair lifted one hand, and slid off one white glove. Stepping a couple feet closer, the man bent down and dragged his long finger upon one step, drenching it with fresh blood along the way. With one swipe he brought the finger to his mouth and licked it. His eyes flashed merely once, a strange glow, before he allowed himself to smirk, just once. Drawing closer again, he grasped her chin in between his forefinger and thumb, and looked at the face more carefully. Almost a minute passed before he let out a bark of a laugh. The other man stared at him in wonder.

"Brendon, you did more than well. You couldn't of hunted a better mistress." The man stroked her cheek lightly, before standing up to his full height. In one motion he slipped the other glove back onto his hand, and snapped his fingers. In an instant, two more men came to he and Brendon's side.

"Yes, master William?"

"Take her to the mansion straight into the basement, if you please." At that, William glanced up towards the hazy sky, and then back to his followers. "Check back up with her at nightfall, and do _not_ wake me up." Before anyone could say anything else, he managed to vanish right in front of their eyes. Sniggering, the two followed Brendon to the girl. All three bent down to examine her, before one spoke.

"You sure she's not... gone?" One asked, sniggering some more. "Looks like you murdered her, Brendon. Nice work."

"She'll be fine." Brendon replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, she will." The other added, gently lifting her head. "She hit her head pretty hard, not to mention some of the _other_ injuries Brendon seemed to manage to inflict on her before she passed out." At that, he sighed. "Was all that really necessary?"

"Come on, Ryan! Of course it was. She was trying to fight me off like a maniac. I even had to bite her to get her to stop..."

"I'm surprised that William wasn't angry at you for that." The first one added seriously, staring at his comrade in confusion.

Brendon managed to have the same look upon his face. "Honestly, I was too... Of course he'd want to of bitten her himself, to make it official. I must've gotten one hell of a girl to make up for that."

"I don't see what makes her so significant. Sure she's pretty... but-"

"Don't judge Will's new maiden, Spencer." Ryan sighed again, before going to his feet and lifting the girl over his shoulders. "Come on, it's starting to become daylight. We'd better get her to the manor before we cause her any more damage. She needs to start healing."


	2. Chapter 2

"**GET ME OUT OF HERE! GET ME OUT OF HERE! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!**"

Even though her screams echoed loudly through the room, the thick walls only allowed for some of her words to pass through to the first few areas nearby upstairs. Each word felt like fire in her throat, and her musical voice became more and more hoarse as time wore on. The girl's sharp nails dug at the stone walls, as if hoping to claw her way out of her chamber. Unlike before when if she were to do this that her nails would become bloody little stubs, she managed to make long, white marks on the wall. It saddened her that even if she could conflict that kind of damage onto a wall, she still couldn't break through the chains and cuffs around her wrists and ankles.

Her attention finally reached back to her aching throat, making her turn her back to the wall and bring her knees up to her chest. Her nails lightly propped themselves against her throat, before she started scratching at it, deeper and deeper. The burn was so fierce! It was almost as if she were in the desert without a morsel of water: Unbearable. She felt like she could cry, but simply couldn't. Besides, if there was any water left in her body, she'd wish it would hydrate her instead of fall out.

"You'd better stop scratching at your throat. At this rate, you might tear it out." A voice said from the doorway, a mere shadow blending amongst the already shady room. However, despite the darkness, she could see him clearly... and didn't even bother wondering why she could so sharply. Each feature looked so familiar, and finally landing only on his eyes, she stopped her vigorous scratching. Instead, she backed even more into the wall with wide eyes.

"Where am I? What... what happened?"

Brendon's teeth gleamed, despite the lack of light. "You're in a basement."

"I figured that one out, genius," She managed to reply sarcastically.

"Then you should've already figured out what happened, right? Don't you remember? It wasn't _too_ long ago."

Of course she remembered the face, but the night before seemed so far away in her memories. Her face scrunched up in hopes of grasping it, but it was merely impossible. Actually, the memories probably would've creeped up quicker if her thoughts weren't so focused on the burning in her throat. Instead of answering back, all she could do was look up at him with eyes filled with hurt. It didn't take him long to understand, and automatically fled back up the steps. A couple minutes later, he returned with a crimson wine bottle and a crystal wine glass.

She scrunched her nose. "Wouldn't alcohol make me even more thirsty? Besides, I'm still underaged."

"Oh, I think this particular brand you'll come to see is a bit more... appetizing." Brendon replied, smirking again. His delicate looking hand poured the liquid a mere inches away from full and handed it to her. She eyed it for a moment before gingerly taking it. Finally after a long time of staring at it, she took a light sniff, and found it to smell strangely divine. So even though he could've done something to it, she drank it. Not only a sip, but completely downed it. Breathing in and out deeply, she snatched the bottle from his hands and downed all of that, too.

Brendon chuckled. "See? I told you you'd like it."

It was completely true. She actually felt... almost normal. Well, at least there wasn't any more pain. She was actually able to focus now. The more she did, the more Brendon drew closer, before crouching down to her level. He didn't speak, but instead continued to stare deeply into her eyes. Almost in awe, he exclaimed, "Your eyes are extraordinary." That made her only roll her eyes lightly. Was he trying to flatter her? Ignoring the comment, she finally asked, "What... was that?"

"Are you sure you're ready to handle it?"

That caught her attention. "...What did you do to me?!"

Brendon rose his hands, quickly saying, "I didn't poison it, I swear. It's actually something rather good for you."

"What are you talking about?"

He bent closer, exposing his teeth once more. "See these?" Specifically, he pointed at his abnormally large canines. That triggered a spark in her mind, making her eyes widen even more than before. She remembered yesterday clearly... Walking home from her job, getting stopped by a stranger in downtown Chicago, then getting attacked by that individual. She remembered trying to escape by going through building after building, but was stopped short at the top of a stairs in one particular building. Stopped from a sudden force and a wild, piercing fire in her neck. That was the last she remembered anything. What stood out specifically from that memory was the man that made those short minutes hell: the man in front of her just at this moment, looking at her rather civilized and amused, instead of a dinner.

"...You bit me!" She exclaimed, disgusted. "You... You-!"

The man couldn't help but roll his eyes, letting out a long breath as he did so. "This is taking too long. M'dear, I'm a vampire, alright? A bloodsucking vampire. Creature of the night? The walking dead? Are any of these ringing a bell in that pretty little head of yours?"

Her breath caught short in her throat, and automatically her pale hand traced over the two holes on her neck. They were already almost like scars. "Vampire?" She repeated hoarsely. She was cringing so much, she managed to bite her lip in the process, and gasped. Her hands traced over her teeth, and to her surprise, her canines were just as long as the mans was.

She wasn't human anymore?

All of her emotions fired up inside her body, causing her to stand up and pounce towards the man, only to be held back by the chains. Instead, she landed on her hands and knees before her stomach could. "YOU **BASTARD**! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" She shouted, before breaking down into dry sobs. "YOU DID ENOUGH TO END MY LIFE, SO WHY AM I HERE?! DO YOU TAKE PLEASURE IN MAKING WOMEN SUFFER?!"

"Not necessarily." Brendon responded dryly, before standing up to his full height, and stared down at her. "As for why you're here, you'll find out soon enough, when he's rested."

"He?" She repeated, her sobs stopping quickly at the new information.

"Yes, he. Like I said, be patient. Things come to those who wait..." He started to finally retreat back to the doorway before stopping and glancing back at here once more. "Before I leave you to rest, I'd like to know some new information."

"Such as?"

"We simply can not call you 'girl' for eternity, can we? I'm curious to what you're name is."

The girl growled. "Why should I tell you?"

"What else have you got to loose?"

"...Lauren."


	3. Chapter 3

**[[author's note: Comments appreciated! 33 I promise Fall Out Boy and dear Patrick will be in the next chapter]]**

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The only way Lauren was able to have an estimate of how many days had gone by is from each time a bottle of blood was taken down to her. She always had two before she drifted off to sleep, until the next night. Every person that came down to give it to her was clean cut and civilized, yet each had a different personality. It was odd... You'd think that a gang of vampire look-a-likes would also be the same personality wise. Dronies of the night, or something. When she got to study each person who brought down her food, she was always in for a surprise.

Her favorite thus far was a man named Ryan. He was the best company a person could ask for in these types of situations, she assumed. It had been days since she last tried to get out of her prison, so trying to live with it the best she could was her only option. This Ryan seemed to show some form of compassion to her each time he visited, which made her feel almost relieved. Vampires definitely could be emotional beings, correct? Blood wouldn't always be the number one thing in their books, right?

...Right.

It was even almost hard for her to believe it, and she was the one that thought it. Every time she woke up, the first thing she'd look for is someone carrying the bottle of blood she craved. If it wasn't there, she'd go ballistic and start scratching at the cold walls until they came. Lauren just wasn't in her right state of mind anymore. Yet if you were in her shoes, would you blame her? If you were thirsty and without water for the rest of your days, you'd go pretty crazy yourself. Of course, being held captive for an unknown reason also placed the cherry on the cake... Each time someone came into her quarters, they'd mention 'he'. Never had she heard a name, nor seen this man. Who the hell was he?! Brendon biting her and bringing her here simply couldn't of been a coincidence.

She was unaware that the time was now that she found out who this man was.

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Lauren awoke in a much comfortable environment, to her surprise. No longer was she held down by chains, even though the shackles still remained grudgingly on her wrists. The room was rather big, and would be pitch dark had she still had her old sight. There really wasn't much in the room, except for the large velvet bed that she was curled up on at that very moment. In a second flat she hopped to her feet and stood balanced in place, her sharp eyes looking around for an escape. Her first thought was the only wooden door in front of her, but the idea made her shake her head... too easy. If she was in the same place she were in before, she didn't doubt that there was a few dozen of vampires ready to stop her. Second option? The balcony doors...

Why wasn't that her first choice in the first place?

She took in a deep breath, and edged closer to the see through barrier. The night sky wasn't new to the girl, but since she hadn't been outside in so long, Lauren couldn't help but gasp. It was so beautiful. Now if only she could finally get a breath of that fresh air... It took a mere jiggle of the golden door knob for her to realize that it was locked. It also didn't take long until the door handle was actually broken _off _from her continuous attempts. Of course now, her only way out would also be the most noisy. Grumbling, she stepped back and with one swift kick, made the glass shatter.

The clock was ticking. Already a chorus of footsteps were rushing at abnormal speed to get to the source. "I knew it, I just fucking **knew**..." she mumbled with clenched fists, and darted out of the gaping hole. With one step, she appeared on the balcony. Another, she hoisted herself over the balcony's edge and jumped...

Only to never reach the ground.

Instead, Lauren was greeted with a pair of hands grasping her by her arm and a silky voice saying, "Oh come on, sweetheart. What's the hurry?" Lauren didn't even have time to react as she was lugged back onto the balcony, and into the room. The breath in her was almost knocked out when she was flung onto the same bed as before. No, breathing wasn't necessary now that her body no longer needed oxygen... but it was a habit she was yet to get rid of. It was almost comforting.

She heard the figure snap, a wordless command that as she started to realize, the other shadows in the room knew what it meant automatically. Two men, she recognized as Brendon and Spencer, went over onto the balcony and shut the doors behind them, yet remained on guard on the other side. Ryan and Jon went to the front door and copied the previous two's actions.

"Welcome to my humble abode, madame," the figure still remaining in the room said in a proper, quiet voice, and stepped closer into view. As he bent over to kiss her hand, the frame of brown hair fell into his handsome face, over his crimson eyes. Lauren noted how he'd never allow himself to bow, and realized just how regal he seemed to be. Was this the 'he' that everyone was talking about? All she could do was remain quiet, tense, and stare intently at him.

"My name is William Beckett," the man continued, standing back to his full stature. "I apologize for not meeting with you sooner... It's been a pretty stressful few days."

"Oh, I can only imagine," Lauren snapped back, venom lacing each word. "While you're up here being the leader of whatever the hell this is, having your little minions following your every demand, I was down there against my will while being held down by god damn _chains_!" At that, she raised her wrist and jingled her remaining cuffs towards him. "But pardon me, I should've taken in your feelings first."

He smirked. "You act just like him," William said quietly, which caused Lauren to raise her eyebrow in confusion, and in turn made him raise his voice just a little more, "Those were precautions that every vampire should go through... and from what my men have reported about those walls, it ended up being the right thing."

"Plus you didn't want me to escape," she interrupted, glaring back at him.

"Perhaps," he agreed truthfully with another smirk. Gracefully his feet led him to the bed, where he sat down right next to her, and grasped her chin with his thumb and finger, "But can you blame me? You, my dear, are one of a kind. You should be grateful that you're a vampire now... it really is extraordinary..."

Lauren's head quickly turned to the side, relieving her chin from his grasps, and stared at him with malice. "What the hell are you talking about? This is the ultimate low that I could ever reach! It's worse than death..."

William let out a low chuckle, and shook his head. What did he know that she didn't? "Have you seen yourself since you've been here?" he asked out of the blue, staring back at her intently.

"Impossible when you're in a dreary dungeon, isn't it?"

The man smirked once more, "Then trust me when I say that I couldn't have a better mistress."

Slowly, her eyes widened, and Lauren jumped to her feet in panic. "_That's_ why I'm here?!"

"Why else would you be?"

"I dunno, not to be chosen for an arranged marriage!?"

He got up, as well, and looked down at her with amused eyes. "Don't you understand what you are being handed? I am the leader of the Dandies..."

"Whatever the hell that is..." she mumbled.

"The Dandies," William quickly replied, "are one of the many groups of vampires in this region. Our group happens to be the top, the best. The groups are what you may think of as people in cliques. There's gangsters, punks, and everything in between. We happen to be more high class, and more powerful. As a vampire, you're in the most secure position you could ever be in. What more is there to question?"

"I dunno, my sanity?" Lauren quietly exclaimed, backing away slowly. "I can't... I can't do this."

The man stepped forward, his presence seeming no longer a friendly gentleman, but more menacing. "You don't have a choice," he replied simply, grasping her arm. "Forced or not, you **will** be mine. Your only choice is whether you'd like life to be rather easy, or like hell. Sooner or later, you'll come around..."

Maybe life was technically over for her now, but she was not going to let a man take control of whatever she had left. A soul still swam inside her, and a brain still functioned above, even though her heart would remain quiet forevermore. It was a risk, but she had to get out.

"No," Lauren said with dead eyes.

"Pardon?"

"No!" she screeched, before spitting straight into his face. Right away, she darted toward the balcony door once again, hoping to somehow dart straight past the two guarding and run into the night. She'd escape somewhere unknown, after going back to her place... Not having a plan wasn't the best way to go, but it was the only thing she could do.

Of course, William was stronger, faster, and obviously couldn't go down with just a shot of venom straight in his face. A low growl escaped from his throat, and grabbed her arm so hard, he nearly tore it off. With one swipe, he slapped her, claws and all. Lauren gasped, the force behind it so strong, she fell to the ground a couple feet away. As he stormed over to have another go at her, she sighed. Maybe his temper would get so bad off, he'd end up killing her. She braced for the blow, and yet, it never came. Her eyes opened in surprise to see Brendon standing in front of William, a gentle grasp holding his master's arm back.

"You'll only loose your strength, and it's like you said, sir... She'll come around." Brendon reasoned, "I'll bring her back to the basement until she's willing to cooperate."

The taller man growled slightly. "You dare listen to my private matters?"

"It couldn't be helped, sir."

William seemed to be in deep thought as his hand slowly dropped from his servant's hold and to his side, looking past Brendon's head and straight into Lauren's eyes. Those eyes seemed to burn holes into the back of her head... Finally, he looked back to the other man, and nodded. "She's not to receive another drop of blood until her ways change. Now go, and tell Ryan to bring me my tea. I need rest."

Brendon's face became stone as he went straight over to Lauren and picked her up. As he darted to the door, William called out, "Brendon, one more thing..."

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't think that this action will go... unpunished."


	4. Chapter 4

It had been days since that little incident in William's corridors that she had last seen Brendon. Even though he was the one that bit her, and was, well... _annoying_, she couldn't help but worry about the poor guy. Those words William spoke as they left were almost haunting. Was Brendon really going to get punished after what he did for her? She did feel a bit responsible... but of course, he didn't have to do what he did.

Was what he did a form of compassion towards her? It was odd. It really didn't seem like he'd be one to be a hero and save the damsel in distress. Yet that was exactly what he did: he saved her from becoming a new unfinished piece of Picasso in William's collection. It wasn't that Lauren was ungrateful. Sure, being a vampire wasn't the path she wanted to take for her life, but being killed in that violent way really wasn't her favorite option, either.

Yet again, what she had been going through ever since the 'no blood' order was torture, too...

Most normal people would go crazy after all the time spent in the dreary dungeon she was in, but it finally started to happen after days passed with no blood. Her throat screamed for her to attack something, _anything_, but it was merely impossible. On the odd chances she was visited, she'd remain silent for the remainder of their time. Once when Ryan visited, she was surprised by an observation he made... Apparently, her eyes had started to glow. According to him, a vampire's eyes have been found to glow right as they drink blood, which was news to her. However, this had been the first time he'd ever seen a night walker's eyes glow from lack of blood. She couldn't of agreed more to that last part, though. Lauren was growing so insane from lack of blood, that she even attempted to attack Ryan. Growling, she pounced at the man, but was only brought back to the wall from the chains restraining her. That sudden blow caused her to look at him with new eyes, which became fearful.

"I'm so sorry, Ry..." she exclaimed, pulling her legs up to her body and hugged them tightly, "I dunno what's gotten into me."

His hand twitched to pat her comfortingly on the shoulder, but he knew better. She seemed back to normal, but a hungry vampire could do just about anything in a split second. Instead, he gave her a feeble smile. "I do. Anyone, even humans, can go crazy from lack of food. It's just worse for us... it's the only thing we ever truly crave."

"I hate it..." Lauren whispered, curling up on her side as she looked straight into her new friend's eyes.

"I know, I know." Ryan replied, kneeling down to her level. "I didn't like it, either. I still don't, when I really put thought into it."

She propped herself up, just enough to give Ryan her attention. "What happened? I mean, if you want to tell me..."

"It's fine," he replied with a small grin, "It's been about thirty years now."

"Seriously? I didn't realize that vampires were around for that long..."

"It's just like the legends say, Lauren. It hasn't been just decades, but centuries. Of course, there are very few vampires still around that are over four hundred and fifty, since it was a bit more common in the older days to have vampire hunts. Those select ones that made it, though, are the most looked up to creatures of our kind. You know, like a king would be for a kingdom."

"Who's the oldest vampire, then?"

Ryan smiled at her newly found curiosity, and continued, "It's pretty hard to keep track of these kind of things, but I have a good idea on who it is. Right now he lives in Russia, and his name is Vlad."

Lauren merely gazed at him with an agape mouth, and her head slowly tilted sideways. "Vlad as in... Vlad **Dracul**? Dracula?!"

"Exactly." he replied, his smile widening.

"Didn't he live in like, Romania or something?"

"All people travel..."

"But in history books, I mean, they all said that he died and-"

He started to laugh again, "Well of course. It's said that he was decapitated in battle, but that wasn't him. The history books also said that the movie Dracula was based off of him, but he was merely human, not a vampire at all. They got that partly right... In fact, he's said to be the first vampire."

By now, Lauren was back to sitting cross legged, and let out a low whistle. "Wow."

"Now you said you wanted to hear about me, right?"

"Oh, whoops!" she replied with wide eyes, before putting a hand over her mouth. "I keep interrupting, hm? I'm sorry, continue."

"Well... I was somewhat of an accident. My sisters and I were out for dinner, and it was the first time I had seen them in a few months. I was off at college here in Chicago, my other sister Valerie was starting her freshman year at a college in New York, and Hailey was just about to start high school. Valerie volunteered to come back to Illinois on her break to take care of Hailey while our parents went to Hawaii for their honeymoon. The two girls came up to Chicago so they could get some shopping done, and called me up so we could all be together. Anyways, we were walking back to my apartment, and that's when I saw William for the first time

"He was... so strange. We ignored him like we would any other stranger that passed us in the streets. My other sisters didn't notice how he turned towards us, nor that certain gleam in his eye despite his emotionless face. I saw him reach toward my sisters, though I didn't know which one... and I didn't care. All I knew was that I was the big brother, and I needed to protect them. That's exactly what I did. He was so fast, and he got so close to grabbing them. I got in just in time for him to swipe me away and bite me instead."

The way Ryan looked off into space, it made Lauren realize that it just might be the first time he talked about that event to anyone else. She swore that he could see his eyes glistening slightly... Ryan cleared his throat, and went on, "Of course the whole thing scared my sisters, and since I was already being dragged away to be this man's lunch, they did the only thing that they knew I wanted them to do: run. Surprisingly enough, William didn't go after them and kill them. He let them go... and after he decided NOT to finish me off and let me join his group, he sent Brendon to go and erase their memories of vampires. Instead, they were sent home and given a call that their dear brother had been killed in a car accident."

"I got to experience what it was like to be a ghost as it looked at it's family in mourning, except I was still solid. No one had to identify the fake body, because the car accident had destroyed 'my face' so much, I was unrecognizable. So they went with 'my' dental records. I watched over my funeral... I saw my parents break, and my siblings cry. Now that I had become this, though," he grabbed at his collar, referring to his undead self, "it was for the best."

"Valerie got married to a lawyer, and gave me two nephews and a niece. Their eldest already has two kids, and the middle child has one on the way. Hailey became an actress, has already been divorced twice, but is now also happily married and has two daughters of their own. Her eldest just had a child, as well."

"Oh wow, Hailey Ross is your sister? I saw her in a couple movies... she's really good." Lauren brought up with a smile.

"She is, huh?" he replied with the first smile in minutes, yet this one was more endearing. "I watch over them when I can, and have only been caught once... but by Valerie's youngest. It's always better if a child sees you than an adult. They do have a better sixth sense than anyone, and their imaginations can go wild. Valerie pushed me off as another imaginary friend when her daughter told her of me."

"...Why are you on William's side, then?" she asked, her eyebrows scrunching together, not comprehending the situation. "I mean, you poor dear, having to go through all of that... wasn't he the reason why you had to go through all of this?"

"Sure," he admitted, "but something much worse could've happened. No matter what, one of us would've been attacked by William that night. I'm lucky that he allowed me to be the one. Or instead, he could've finished us all off. Not only did he not kill me and let my family go, but he gave them a less traumatic experience to remain in their memories. Since then, he's left my family alone. When I turned, he took me in and taught me things I wouldn't of picked up on my own."

"But-"

"I don't think you can understand just yet, Lauren." Ryan said simply, "It's not only that. See, when you get bitten by someone, they become... I don't know. It's so hard to explain. It's not like I want to be William's spouse, but I love him. I think I did ever since he first sank his teeth into me, even though I tried to deny it. Like the Dr. Frankenstein of the monster itself."

Lauren tried wrapping her mind around it, but was quickly disturbed when the door of her own chambers flapped open, and there, plain as day, stood Brendon. Besides his scarily straight, stone-like face, he appeared almost out of harm. The sight of him made her sigh out of relief. "Brendon, you're okay," she exclaimed, getting up slowly. "I'm so sorry..." Her words were temporarily cut short when Brendon's hand suddenly flew out from behind his back, and a glistening bottle of blood awaited her.

"William sent this down, asking how you were and if you changed your mind yet."

Her mouth twisted into a frown. "That's it?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

"I dunno..." she looked down at her feet, "I just... are you alright?"

"What do you want me to tell William?" he grumbled.

His attitude made Lauren growl right back, "That I'm peachy, thanks. And the answer is still the same damn thing."

Ryan finally spoke, with almost a pleading voice, "Lauren... Remember earlier?"

Of course she did, and she felt horrible about it. "I can't let him win, Ry!"

"What would be worse: becoming a monster, or being his lover?"

"I-..." she fell silent, letting her teeth stroll over her bottom lip lightly. She could just lie about it, but for how long? When would William realize that something wasn't right? Above that, after her little incident, there was no way that she'd ever be left alone out in the open again. Lauren had to do something, though... Before she could change her mind, she quickly grasped the bottle and pulled the cork out with her teeth. Through it, she hissed, "Doeth thath ansther yo questhion?" and spit the cork towards the stairs. Strangely enough, Brendon did nothing but nod, and retreat back up the stairs and out of sight.

"What's with him?" she asked, swishing the bottle around. "I said I was sorry, and tried to talk to him, but he just ignored me. That seems just so... un-Brendon-like... So are _you_ going to tell me the truth?"

"What truth?"

"Ry... you know what I mean! Something happened... William doesn't seem the one to give out empty threats."

"I didn't like it, it was horrible, but it had to be done..." Ryan muttered suddenly, a twinge of sorrow in his voice as he said so. "William... he-. He attacked Brendon's heart."

"What?"

His eyes darted away, his mind obviously deciding whether or not he should really say. Finally when he landed upon an answer, he took in a deep breath. "Remember when you came at me? Those chains were the only thing keeping you from trying to attack me. Brendon, he... wasn't so lucky."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Brendon was trapped in a place like yours, too, without blood. At his breaking point, someone was put in the room with him. By time he came to and realized what he was doing, it was too late... He killed his daughter."

Her eyes widened, her mouth open from the shock. "He had a daughter?"

Ryan nodded. "If Brendon were still alive, he'd be older than me. His daughter was two when he was turned, and when she was killed, she was almost forty. Like me, but about twice a year, he'd look over his family in secret. He had a fiance, too. Of course she remarried... but Brendon still loved them both."

"So he knew that it was his daughter he killed after he was done," she stated, her eyes now dead. Ryan merely nodded. "So even after all of this, you still love your beloved master. After all the horrible, horrible things he's done! What if you do something next, and you kill your sister, or your nephew!?"

"That's why I won't be dumb enough to go against him," he replied flatly, the first cold words she ever heard from him thus far. As she moodily drank her bottled blood down, a sudden loud noise upstairs was heard, causing Ryan to flinch towards the door. A shout of 'intruders!' was heard easily, even from down here, and without a word, Ryan fled up the stairs to help his comrades. As she sat there by herself, she became a bit confused. Honestly, she found it near impossible to sneak into a place like this. So what type of people were these intruders exactly?

Brushing it off, Lauren let Ryan's words ring in her head, and in turn, she grumbled random nonsense. How could they all just follow William's word like that? Poor Brendon... it's hard enough to know your child has been murdered, but by yourself, unaware of what you were doing until the very end? She could only imagine how he was feeling... It made her wonder if HE still, after all of that, loved his master like Ryan and probably all of his other little minions did. It all made her grow angry quick, and without thinking, she flung the empty bottle across the room where it smashed into a thousand pieces.

"Hey, Patrick, I think there's something down there too," a lispy voice exclaimed, just by her door upstairs. Automatically, Lauren cringed, her sharp eyes darting up at the door. Going as far as she could with the chains, she hid in the nearest corner, hoping that they'd not see her. Yeah maybe she was a _little_ scared, but there wasn't much she could do while chained up. Even though it was strange, she stopped breathing... it being easier than it originally seemed, but still seemed so out of place. Just then, the door creaked open, and footsteps started to flood down the steps.

"Are you sure?" another voice, slightly deeper, asked. "I can't see anything here."

Couldn't see anything? Maybe these intruders weren't vampires, after all. Cause in reality, she could see them very well. The first one held a strange device, and appeared to be the tallest with a brown afro. The other had a gingery blonde look to his hair, which was covered with a trucker hat. He was the shortest of the bunch, being probably around three or four inches taller than she was, Lauren estimated. The next guy who was just coming down, just like the last, also had glasses. His hair was a brownish red, and pretty voluminous as well. He was the only one carrying a recognizable weapon: two small swords. The three were quiet as they scanned the room, before the voice from earlier, the man with the 'fro, exclaimed, "Positive, man. It was like... I dunno, breaking glass or something."

At that moment, the middle height man's shoe crushed the glass from her bottle, and he automatically stepped back, "Yeah here it is..."

Lauren's eyes traveled from over at that scene, straight up at the other two, and stopped in horror. The one in a hat was staring directly down at her, and continued to come closer. The man next to him watched his friend, and looked right in the direction he was heading, and his eyes also widened. "Whoa. Where'd she come from?"

**She**. Automatically, she backed up into her corner, her nails digging into the wall. "Stay back," she warned half-heartedly, thinking of what all she could do to protect herself. "I mean it..."

The hat man stopped right away, and oddly enough, knelt down to her level. "I'm not gonna hurt you." he told her assuringly, his eyebrows pulling up. He glanced down once, his pale hand tracing over the chains, and went back to look into her own. "...Are they keeping you prisoner here?"

Lauren dropped her hands slowly, but still remained tense. Maybe they weren't bad after all? Maybe they could help her... "Yeah."

"For how long?" the other one in glasses asked.

"I've lost track," she admitted, her face scrunching together, "I used to keep track, but ever since they stopped bringing down... erm, food... That was the only way I was able to, you know, know."

The man in front of her gazed at her for a little while, before looking back at the other two. "We have to take her with us. This is bad, even for the Dandies..."

"Yeah, man, but we gotta hurry. Pete'll be here soon... he can only hold them off for a little bit." The man with the machine came forward, and pointed it straight at the chain.

"Joe, the laser?" the man by her exclaimed worriedly, "We've only just started testing it again!"

"It'll be fine, Patrick," Joe assured him, and motioned for Lauren to move back a little more, before he zapped the whole chain into smithereens. The only thing left was the cuffs, to which Patrick told her, "We'll get them off back at the place, alright? Just come with us-"

"Time to go!" A voice urgently exclaimed, going at top notch down the steps. "What are you guys doing? We have to get out **now**!"

"We have an extra person we'll be bringing," Patrick replied, and helped Lauren onto her feet. "Can you carry her? You're the fastest."

Pete growled in frustration, before coming straight up to her, and stopped. His crimson-brown eyes widened, as did Lauren's, and his hand reached out to touch her cheek, as if she wasn't real. Pete took a sharp intake of breath.

"...Sis?"


	5. Chapter 5

Pete disappeared three years ago when Lauren was sixteen, completely without a trace. It was a mystery to everyone, even the investigators that came onto the scene. His apartment was completely untouched, and nothing showed any sign of him running away. They checked in all the archives the morgues had, and still nothing. Finally, the case turned cold, and that was that. The Wentz family tried everything they could to find out the truth, but was only disappointed. Now, after all this time, Peter was standing right in front of her, still in just as much awe as she was. She couldn't speak... she was just in so much shock. Yet before anyone else could speak, since the rest of the group was rather confused, a loud noise above broke Pete's concentration which caused him to take off up the stairs with Lauren suddenly on his back. The rest of the team was right behind him.

It didn't take long for them to be out of the house, and a ways away from it at that. Suddenly, a loud, angry yell came from back at the mansion, which caused Lauren to gaze quickly over her shoulder in shock.

"Sounds like dear Beckett realized we stole his possession," Joe sniggered as they continued to escape, finally making it to a rather fancy looking black car with a bat and a heart on it. Pete shoved his sister in before him, and they took off like a bat out of hell. Gasping for breath, a couple of the crew members chuckled out of relief, and Patrick continued to drive to what Lauren understood would be their hideout. Finally, the driver's eyes flickered to the back mirror, looking at the backseat members in confusion.

"So what the hell's going on here anyway?" Patrick asked in a soft yet questionable voice.

"Yeah, what was with that touching moment back there?" Andy also chimed in.

Pete grumbled a little, before telling their tale of being siblings. As he did so, Lauren's eyes gazed over her brother's face before anyone could reply, the situation settling in. God, he looked so much like he did three years ago. It was as if he'd been here at her side the entire time. He was the same height, the same facial features, everything was just as she remembered... except for his eyes. Instead, to her dismay, they weren't the puppy dog brown eyes she knew, but now was mixed with crimson. A completely unnatural crimson... Gasping for breath, she reached out, her fingers lightly upon his lips.

"What are you doing?" he mumbled halfway through their story, looking down at his sister's hand. Automatically, her fingers parted, making his lips part as well. Pete's white, shining teeth glistened behind, and most importantly, his two canines were extremely abnormal than a human's would be.

"No..." she gasped, her face quickly falling as she learned the rest of the story before Pete even had time to tell her. "You, too?"

"Too?!" Peter exclaimed with wide eyes, realization dawning on his face as he, too, looked into her eyes. "Purple...?"

'Purple?' she thought in surprise. The last she remembered, she was a vampire, right? After all, most things didn't drink blood. Didn't all vampires have some form of crimson eyes? Her eyes before were blue, and she was pretty sure that blue and red didn't make purple... maybe she was mistaken. "Purple?" Lauren finally asked, tilting her head. Instead, Pete waved it off, an angry look filling each nook and cranny of his features.

"I'll kill that son of a bitch..." he grumbled, looking back at his sister, his voice growing louder and louder. "To put me through it first, fine. But my sister too?! What's he trying to accomplish?!"

"Brendon bit you?" Lauren asked.

"Brendon?" Pete replied, taken aback, "That little servant of William's? No... why? He bit you?"

She nodded. "Well, yeah..."

"Well that's... weird, dude," Joe suddenly spoke up, sitting on the other side of Lauren. "Did you do anything to make the Dandies pissed off before you were bit?"

"No!" Lauren replied quickly, "I didn't even know that there WERE any vampires until recently... which's why I never would've imagined that my big brother was one..."

"Why would they keep her captive then?" Patrick exclaimed, mostly to himself as he managed to keep his eyes on the road.

"Usually, the Dandies only keep future followers captive or people that got on their bad side..." said Andy when Lauren continued to look at everyone confusedly, "and you don't seem to be either. So why would they keep you down there?"

A slight shade of red covered her cheeks as she looked angrily downward. In turn, the group looked at her expectantly, but received no reply. To be frank, she was too embarrassed over everything that happened there.

"Laur?" Pete asked, concerned, and tried to get eye contact back with her. "Why were they keeping you?"

"Wilwanmebetris."

"...Huh?"

"William... wanted for me to be his mistress."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was almost morning, so before they showed Lauren around her new home, they whisked her away to her new bedroom and bid her goodnight. Being they didn't know that they'd be bringing home a new member of the household, there really wasn't anything in there. The only thing that she saw was that it had no windows and a tight door, and for now that'd be the best. Before she tried to make herself comfortable on the floor, a quiet knock at the door broke her from everything. The door cracked open, and a timid face that belonged to Patrick emerged from it. "Hey, Lauren? Can I come in for a second?"

"Um, sure, Patrick."

He quietly came in, closing the door behind him for safe measures. The only light that remained in the room was from a couple dim candles on a lone table in the room, which made him squint towards her. His hands carried a few pillows and two blankets neatly on top. "I... didn't know what you'd prefer to sleep on, cause Pete usually sleeps in that box of his. But I thought these would be more comfortable than some random cold floor."

"You didn't have to..." she replied, a small smile spreading over her face as she stood up. "I've been sleeping on the floor for probably a few months now."

"Which made me think you needed a change," Patrick cut in, smiling slightly back, and began to lay out the first blanket for her, followed by pillows and the last blanket. Once satisfied, he grinned and turned to leave.

"Hey, Patrick?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks," she said, her smile growing a little more as she situated herself on the floor. "See you in the morning? Or, er, night?"

"You bet. Night," he replied, and closed the door.

Honestly, after all the effort Patrick put into making sure his guest was comfortable, the new place she slept in was definitely cozier. Instead of feeling lonely, hurt, and scared, for the first time she actually felt... safe. Especially now that her brother was just outside that door. Lauren was so scared that she'd be alone for the rest of her days, but now her brother would be there right at her side. Sighing, she began fiddling with the shackles still clinging to her slender wrists, when Pete's voice suddenly came from the next room over. Her hands stopped moving so she'd have complete silence and hear what all he was saying.

"I'll kill him... all of them..." Pete's voice seethed, and you could almost hear him pacing back and forth as he did so.

"I know you're upset," Patrick's voice came after, calming down his friend, "and understandably so, but we have to investigate this more."

"I can't worry about all of that now! They turned my sister, 'Trick! Don't you understand that? I never wanted her to get wrapped up into all of this, which's why once I was turned I tried to stay away the best I could."

"I know, I know... but look. We need to understand the enemy even more before we go in and fight again. You don't want to go in half-assed and end up having your sister get into the same situation as before, do you?"

"No!" Pete shouted, frustrated, before slamming something breakable into the wall. Patrick ended up mumbling some more, something again about him calming down, and a thud told her that Pete slid to the ground obediently. "No... And I promise that I won't ever get her into that situation again. I was pissed cause my life was over, but at least I wasn't held in such a place. I can only imagine what they've done to her.."

"It is sad, but she's here with us now," his friend replied, before continuing, "Now let's look at what we've got so far. Brendon apparently was the one that bit Lauren, and usually if a vampire's going to be a new lover, the vampire that wants the mistress needs to bite them, since for whatever reason they receive a 'bond' between each other." At that, Lauren quietly went over to her door and quietly cracked it open just enough to have them in view.

"Yeah, I've kinda been thinking about that," Pete exclaimed, "What if it was like, a creator type of bond?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you know, supposedly 'God' made the earth and humans, right? And everyone has this love for him. What if that's the same way? I mean, 'God' created this body and soul, but now they've created this new vampire."

Patrick nodded, a small, intrigued look on his face, "That's a really good observation, Pete."

"Well it's not like I'm incapable of ideas," Pete grumbled, a hint of a smirk on his face. Patrick grinned back apologetically, before thinking back to their conversation.

"That definitely could be a part of it, but I was thinking of maybe a part of it being in the venom that's injected." he exclaimed, and sat down next to Pete. "Next, what about Lauren's eyes?"

"That they're purple? I have no idea..." Pete admitted, looking down at his hands. "I've never seen another vampire without crimson in their eyes before. Only heard about it from that one book, Twilight or whatever. But their eyes were gold."

"I never read that," Patrick exclaimed, curiosity striking him again. "Why were their eyes gold?"

"Because they drank animal blood or something..."

That made his friend's eyebrows rise, a new thought entering his mind. "Oh?"

"Um, yeah... Oh! Okay, I see what you're thinking. But the Dandies always try to be this high class group! You don't think...?"

"It's definitely a possibility, and it might explain why not only her eyes are different, but why vampires in general are. I'll have to do some tests tomorrow, if you and her don't mind."

"Like we have a choice," Pete responded with a smirk, before jumping onto his feet and squinting towards the other end of the room. "Almost day time... We'll talk about this later, alright?" With that, just in a flash, her brother disappeared. Not long after, Patrick retired to his room, as well. Lauren was just about to shut her door, until her eyes caught ahold of something shiny. There straight across from her was a dirty girl with torn up clothes, dirty blonde hair and pale skin. As well, two shackles clung to her wrists as reminders of what all she went through. And who said that a vampire can't see their reflection?

More noticable was the purple eyes that now covered her gray blue ones. Luckily, she had eaten not too long before hand, so she didn't catch sight of the glow that they tended to do. The new neon color however sent a chill down her spine. One supposed in time she'd get used to them, especially since she loved the color purple, but they weren't her... One quick sigh escaped her lips once more.

"I definitely need a shower tomorrow," she simply stated to herself, before closing her door and retreating to bed.

* * *

Sorry this is kind of short, but it's more of a filler than anything. Comments are 33, like you!


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